Nia Long’s 13-year engagement is officially over.
Source: Paul Archuleta / Getty
A rep for the veteran actress confirmed Tuesday that she’s split from Ime Udoka.
The news was first shared by PEOPLE which noted that Long, 51, and Udoka, 45, ended their relationship after the former Boston Celtics head coach allegedly had an affair with a female subordinate within the team’s organization. That woman was allegedly a travel planner who handled Nia’s move to Boston to be with Udoka who proposed to Nia in 2015.
“The situation is unfortunate and painful, but Nia is focusing on her children and rebuilding her life,” a Nia Long source originally told the publication.
Later, Long’s rep confirmed that the breakup report was true and said while Long and Udoka are longer together, they “remain fully committed to co-parenting their son [Kez].”
The couple’s split comes after the Boston Celtics held a press conference in September to address Udoka’s suspension.
The news also comes amid Nia telling The Hollywood Reporter last week that the Celtics still have not reached out to her privately following the scandal in September.
“It’s very disappointing,” the actress said. “If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK.”
Long continued, “I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.”
She also shared that she took her son out of school when Udoka’s alleged affair became public and in recent weeks she posted pics from a new home. Many presumed that her living arrangements marked a new chapter in her life and speculated that she officially split from the coach.
Looks like those assumptions were correct.
Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty
We wish Nia all the best as she puts this behind her.
Are YOU surprised that Nia Long and Ime Udoka have split?